But mostly there’s the Sanadze scowl, his default expression -- serious, grumpy, a 21-year-old hell-bent on a mission.

“He looks like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” said USD coach Bill Grier.

Offered shooting guard Johnny Dee, “I think he just wants to win, and he’s not happy until the clock strikes zero and we have more points than the other team.”

USD (12-10, 3-6 West Coast Conference) faces Saint Mary’s tonight at the Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Toreros’ first home game in 19 days. If USD is to recover from its road-heavy, poor conference start, the Toreros will almost certainly need a lift from the player who seldom hides his emotions.

Sanadze (pronounced Suh-NOD-zay) walked off the court one recent morning after practice and was asked, “Where does the scowl come from?”

He pounded a fist against his chest and said, “Georgia.”

He wasn’t speaking of the Peach State.

The Republic of Georgia sits at the merger of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. It’s bordered by the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north and Turkey to the south.

It’s a small country, population almost 5,000,000. Georgia’s legacy the last century is one of enduring hardship, Georgians fighting for their independence.

Georgia was under Russian rule from 1921 until the Soviet Union collapse in 1991. Then came a three-year civil war. An estimated 230,000 to 250,000 Georgians were massacred or driven out of Abkhazia in the early ’90s.

“We are really, really tough warriors,” said Sanadze.

Sanadze is USD’s No. 2 scorer (12.6 points) and rebounder (4.0). He’s also second on the team in fouls. So when he elbows for positioning beneath the glass or pushes off a defender on a drive, is his physical style learned or culturally instinctive?

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just like fighting on the floor, battling on the floor.”

“He can be scary sometimes,” said USD assistant Kyle Bankhead. “You know he’s literally not afraid to go to fisticuffs.”

Bankhead paused. “That’s something we needed.”

Sanadze was raised to play basketball, specifically to put the ball in the basket.

His father, George, was the captain of Georgia’s national team, then managed a basketball academy. Duda has watched film of his father and raves about him.

“He was the shooter. Way better than me. He always scored points,” said Sanadze. “And he was really bouncy. I saw dunks in warmups … 360s. I wish I had that right now.”

The oldest of three boys, Sanadze demonstrated a basketball aptitude at an early age and was pushed by his father.

By 11, he was playing virtually year round. By 15, he was playing on a Georgia junior national team.

“After school, I might want to play with a friend or watch TV,” said Sanadze. “My father would tell me, ‘Get dressed. We’re going to the gym.’ I would say, ‘OK father, I’m coming.’ You can’t complain to my father. He’s a tough guy.”

Like a high arching three hanging in the air, heading toward the net, Sanadze fell into USD’s lap. He was being recruited by then Arizona State assistant Lamont Smith, a former USD coach.

The Sun Devils settled on another wing. Smith told USD about this 6-5 Euro guard who could score. Bankhead studied video, talked to European contacts, flew to Slovenia in the summer of 2011, watched Sanadze play, came back and gave Grier the two-thumbs up.

After redshirting last season, Sanadze has started 20 of 22 games. He scored in double figures in eight of his first 10 games. He has scored 20 or more points three times, including a career-high 25 against Santa Clara.

“One thing that stood out to me was his size,” said Santa Clara assistant Jesse Pruitt. “He’s a big strong wing. The other thing that stood out is offensively, he’s fearless. He drove the ball and attacked.

“He’s a little different than a lot of European players. He didn’t shy away from contact. He initiated contact.”

Sanadze, though, is very much a work in progress. Accustomed to a 24-second clock in Europe as opposed to college’s 35 seconds to get off a shot, he can rush plays.

“Coming off a ball screen, sometimes he’s like come hell or high water, I’m making a play,” said Grier. “Search it out if there’s nothing there. Swing the ball.”

He can be inconsistent. After averaging 18 points the previous four games, he has scored a combined 13 points the past two.

He needs the most work on defense, particularly playing off the ball.

“He’s got a long way to go defensively,” said Bankhead.

But what Sanadze gives the Toreros is something that can’t be coached. He gives USD a nastiness, an attitude, a physical toughness.

Late in the Toreros’ 69-65 home loss to Pepperdine, Christopher Anderson missed a three-pointer. The Waves’ 6-8 Brendan Lane grabbed the rebound and with four seconds to go, Sanadze hacked Lane on the arm, the slap audible in the upper deck.

No foul was called, but Lane stared at Sanadze. Sanadze stared right back.

Said USD point guard Christopher Anderson, “It was like Duda was saying, ‘I dare you to do something. Right now. I dare you.’ If Lane had gone after him, it wouldn’t have been pretty for Lane.”